


East of the Sun and West of the Moon

by kaeorin



Series: Loki's Lullabies [5]
Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies), Thor (Movies)
Genre: Affection, Bedtime Stories, Cuddling, F/M, Illusions, Magic
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-03-31
Updated: 2020-03-31
Packaged: 2021-02-28 21:08:43
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,726
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23403508
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/kaeorin/pseuds/kaeorin
Summary: When you have trouble falling asleep one night, you ask Loki to read to you for a while. He has a better idea. (Just another little fluff-bomb to help you get to sleep.)
Relationships: Loki (Marvel)/Reader
Series: Loki's Lullabies [5]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1678240
Comments: 10
Kudos: 250





	East of the Sun and West of the Moon

Everything was fine. Perfect, even. The sheets were freshly-laundered. Your pillows felt perfectly-fluffed. The window was cracked to let a bit of breeze in, and the clean air smelled amazing. You were exhausted from work today, and you’d been looking forward to bedtime all day. 

But you couldn’t sleep.

Part of it was most assuredly work. You’d spent the day coordinating things for the people who had applied for help from Tony’s newest foundation. You’d heard stories of desperation and fear, and that was hard to shake even knowing that you would be able to help each and every one of those people. But the rest of it? Who knew. Maybe it was the uncertainty of the times, or low-grade anxiety about everything, or possibly that ill-advised cup of tea you’d had after dinner.

With a frustrated sigh, you turned onto your side. Loki was sitting propped against the headboard. The lamp on his end table was on so he could read, but you’d fallen asleep despite that lamp plenty of times. He looked over at you and didn’t bother to hide the smile that crept across his face. “I know that sound. Having trouble?”

You nodded and reached out to close your fingers around his wrist. Sometimes just touching him was enough to lull you to sleep. Knowing he was there, that he wasn’t going to leave you again, was incredibly reassuring. Sometimes he teased you for it, but he was also the one who often curled his whole body around you while you slept. He liked the security just as much as you did. 

The feel of his skin brought you the same comfort it always did, but you just weren’t sleepy. You let your hand drop back to the mattress and opened one eye to look up at him. “Will you read to me? Just for a little while. My brain needs something else to focus on, I think.”

He didn’t answer for a time, so long that you nearly began to worry that he would say no. But then, finally, he closed his book and leaned over to turn off the light. “I’ve a better idea,” he finally said, and laid down with you, pulling you in close. He pressed a kiss to your forehead and started to tell a story. He spoke of a man with many children but little money, who happened upon a great wolf who offered to make him as rich as he now was poor, if the man’s youngest daughter would go away with the wolf. He spoke softly, but deliberately, and a dim light began to appear at the foot of the bed. It was a wolf—a great white wolf shining with Loki’s magic as he continued to tell his story. You drew in a sharp breath and turned to look at him, but he had his eyes closed as he spoke. 

The wolf took the girl away, letting her ride on his back. Sure enough, the figure of a girl appeared astride the wolf, and she bore a striking resemblance to you. You nudged him in the shoulder and tried not to laugh. He was smiling. The girl was well cared-for in the wolf’s home—more like a palace, really—and whenever there was anything her heart desired, she had only to ring a little silver bell. At night, when she laid down to sleep, the wolf—who could leave his beastly form and take the shape of a man—joined her. Over time, the girl grew sad and lonely, missing her family. Loki conjured the image of her asking the wolf to see her family, the image of the wolf agreeing, under the condition that she did not let her mother speak to her alone.

And then the wolf took her to her family. There was great rejoicing and celebration: because of the girl’s sacrifice, the family had more than enough money, and food, and clothing, and they all thanked her profusely. It was impossible to keep from smiling as you watched Loki’s figures take joy in each other. You laced your fingers through his, and he squeezed your hand gently. The girl’s mother tried several times over the course of the day to get her alone, and the girl finally went with her. The mother was worried for the girl, worried that all was not as it seemed, and told the girl to hide a bit of candle in her nightclothes, and then, when the wolf joined her at night, to light the candle to make sure she was not laying beside a troll.

At the end of the night, the wolf came back to get her, and took her back to their home. The girl still had her candle, and, sure enough, when the man joined her in bed, she waited for him to fall asleep. Then she lit the candle. You looked on in awe as the girl’s flickering candle lit up the face of her wolf—who looked much like your Loki—and had to cringe when the candle dripped three drips of wax onto his shirt. The wolf-prince awakened with a wail and told the girl that she had ruined everything. He’d been under a curse: forced to take the form of a wolf by day. To break the curse, the girl had only to stay with him for one more night, but now that she’d seen him and learned of the curse, he’d be forced to marry a troll princess. The girl wept and begged for forgiveness, but slowly the prince’s palace faded around her. You gripped Loki’s hand tightly, heart breaking for the two figures before you, and he turned to press a kiss to your temple.

The girl learned of the prince’s new whereabouts, but they were faraway and impossible to get to on her own. She had to wander here and there looking for help. Thankfully, there were many who knew of the prince and his upcoming marriage, and when they learned that _she_ was the girl who was meant for the prince instead of the foul troll family who terrorized the land, they all offered their help to get her where she needed to go. When she finally got there, she had to bargain with the troll princess, offering her golden treasures in order to be able to spend time with the prince. Two nights, she was allowed to sit with him, but each time, he slept like the dead and would not awaken, no matter how she prayed and cried for him. Even knowing, as you did, that this was only a story and would most assuredly have a happy ending, your heart broke to watch it happening before you. The prince’s face was deathly pale, and the girl seemingly could not breathe for how hard she wept. 

On the morning of the third day, someone finally told the prince that he had slept accompanied by a girl who tried desperately to awaken him, and all at once he realized what the troll princess had been doing. When she brought him his evening tea, this time he did not drink. Your heart leapt into your throat as you watched the girl step warily into his sleeping quarters only to see him awake and alert. She threw herself at him and they embraced tearfully. You had to hide your face against Loki’s shoulders at that, and you did not miss the quiet laugh that rumbled through his chest when you did. Gently, he worked the fingers of one hand through your hair, and held you close so he could kiss your forehead again.

Finally, at the end, the prince asked his would-be troll bride to wash the shirt he wanted to wear for their wedding. It was his best shirt, you see, but there were three spots of wax that needed to be washed away. The troll tried, but no matter how hard she scrubbed, the spots only grew larger. Her mother took over, and the spots only grew larger and darker until it looked like the shirt had been ground into the dirt. Finally, prince asked the girl to wash the shirt, and she had only just dipped the shirt into the water when suddenly it was perfect and clean again. The troll princess and her mother were so enraged that they exploded right there. The prince married the girl and freed all of the trolls’ prisoners, and then they took their riches back to the prince’s true palace in the stars. They reigned there as beloved king and queen for the rest of their days.

As Loki finished the story, the room began to fill with a great many tiny, twinkling lights. _Stars_. Right here in your bedroom. You wrapped your arm around him and buried your face against his neck. He worked his fingers through your hair and laughed again. You loved that sound. 

“You’re too good a storyteller, Loki,” your grumbled against his skin. “I couldn’t fall asleep to that! I had to know if the girl would get her prince!” 

He pressed a kiss to the top of your head and tightened his arm around your back. “Of course she did. A girl that stubborn? Woe betide any man, beast, or troll who tries to stand in her way.” His hand pressed solidly against your back, and you all but purred for him. The story had caught your attention, but his touch was soothing you, almost to sleep. “Shall I keep the stars shining, love?”

You opened one eye to take in the sight that was still going strong. Here and there you could make out dust clouds, shooting stars, even several binary pairs. You committed the sight to memory— _stars_ , in your _bedroom_ —and then had to stifle a yawn. “That’s okay. I don’t want you to drain all your energy.” You hid your face against him for a minute, gathering up all your courage, and then met his eyes again. “But...remember this trick for the next time you’re trying to get me into bed.” Your mouth curled into as sultry a smile as you could manage, now that you were finally getting sleepy. The stars faded out of the air around you, but Loki’s eyes twinkled with a knowing gleam.

“As you wish, my queen.”


End file.
